Toy



United States Patent Filed Aug. 31, 1962, Ser. No. 220,604 3 Claims. c1. 124 12 The present invention relates to toys generally and in particular to a combination periscope and peashoot'er toy.

An object of the present invention is to provide a combination peashooter and periscope toy which enables a person to project a missile such as a pea or other projectile from a hidden location, using a periscope incorporated in the toy for aiming purposes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toy which is interesting to children generally, one having novel means for projecting a pea or other projectile, one which lends itself to competitive play and games such as are imitative of army tactics, and one which is highly effective in action.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a toy which is inexpensive to construct, one which may be manufactured in any size and within any reasonable length for use by a child, and one which is economically feasible.

These and other objects and advantages will be fully apparent from the following description which is to be construed in the light of the drawing which is attached and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the toy of the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a view in section of the assembly shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view,

FIGURE 4 is a view on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 2, and

FIGURE 5 is a view on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the toy of the present invention consists in an upright casing substantially square in cross-sectional configuration, as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5.

The casing 10 has a top wall 12 closing the upper end of the casing 10 and a bottom wall 14 closing the lower end of the casing 10. The casing also has a front wall 16 and a rear wall 18' spaced from the front wall 16.

Side walls 20 and 22 connect each of the adjacent edges of the front wall 16 and the rear wall 18 together.

The front wall 16 of the casing 10 is provided with an opening 24 spaced inwardly of and below the upper end of the casing 10.

The rear wall 18 is provided with a sight opening 26 inwardly of and spaced from the lower end of the casing 10.

A mirror element 28 is Within the casing 10 adjacent to the opening 24 in the upper end of the casing 10 and is supported upon a backing plate 30 which has a bent portion 32 secured to the inner face of the front wall 16, as shown most clearly in FIGURE 2.

Another or second mirror element 34 is secured to a backing plate 36 having a bent portion 38 secured to the inner wall of the rear wall 18. The mirror element 34 is adjacent the sight opening 26. Both of the backing plates 30 and 36 are arranged at an angle of forty-five degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the casing 10 and such elements are parallel to each other and face each other so that a person looking into the sight opening 26 will see reflected thereon an image picked up by the mirror element 28 through the opening 24, as is common in periscope devices of conventional construction.

Means is provided, indicated generally by the reference numeral 40, for projecting a missile or projectile such as a 3,220,398 Patented Nov. 30, 1965 pea toward the object viewed through the mirror elements 28 and 30 as viewed through the opening 26. This means consists in a rigid tube 42 within the casing 10 and extending along one side thereof as shown in FIGURE 4. The tube 42 has a curved upper end portion 44 terminating in a nipple 46 which projects forwardly from the casing front wall 16. The lower end portion of the tube 42 has a bent portion 48 extending outwardly through a sleeve 50 which is supported in the rear wall 18 of the casing 10. The portion of the tube 42 exteriorly of the sleeve 50 is downwardly and rea-rwardly bent to form a mouthpiece 52 below and spaced from the opening 26 the approximate distance between the lips and the eyes of a person.

A cross hair assembly 54 extends across the opening 24, as shown most clearly in FIGURE 1. An alternative arrang'ement for the cross hair assembly 54 is to have it etched or painted on the mirror surface or element 28 if such is preferred.

The means 40 including the tube 42, the bent portions 44 and 48 in the nipple 46, together with the mouthpiece 52 constitutes a conduit means adapted for the projection of a projectile by the force of the breath of a p'erson blowing into the mouthpiece 52.

In use, the mirror elements 28 and 34 may be true mi-rrors or may be plain mirrored surfaces such as polished aluminum or the like. The tube 42 may be formed of plastic. either rigid or nonrigid as desired and the casing itself, at 10, may be fabricated of lightweight wood, cardboard, plastic, 'or other suitable material.

A child, or other person, employing the device of the present invention may sight through the opening 26 on a target which is seen through the opening 54 with the upper end of the casing 10 projecting above any obstruction which is a likely shield for the person using the toy of the present invention. Upon sighting an objective, a pea, or other projectile, may be inserted into the mouthpiece 52 or into the nipple 46 for loosely rolling movement within the tube 42 and upon the application of a burst of air into the mouthpiece 52 by the force of air breathed into the mouthpiece, the projectile or pea will be projected out of the nipple 46 in the direction of the object sighted.

While the angularity of the mirror elements has been described as forty-five degrees it is contemplated that other angles may be employed as desired.

While only a preferred form of the invention is shown and described, other forms of the invention are contemplated and numerous changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit thereof as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy comprising an elongated casing having a front wall and a rear wall spaced from said front wall, a side wall connecting each of the adjacent edges of said front and rear walls together, the front wall of said casing being provided with an opening inwardly of and spaced from one end of said casing, the rear wall of said casing being provided with a sight opening inwardly of and spaced from the other end of said casing, a first mirror element within said casing adjacent the first named opening, a second mirror element within said casing adjacent the second named opening, and conduit means extending through said casing and having the portion adjacent one end exteriorly of said front wall and having the portion adjacent the other 'end exteriorly of said rear wall, said conduit means being adapted for the projection of a projectile by the force of the breath of a person blowing into said conduit through said other end.

2. A toy comprising an upright elongated casing having a front wall and a rear wall spaced from said front wall, a side wall connecting each of the adjacent edges of said front and rear walls together, the front wall of said casing being provided with an opening inwardly of and spaced from the upper end of said casing, the rear wall of said casing being provided with a sight opening inwardly of and spaced from the lower end of said casing, a first mirror element within said casing adjacent the first named opening, a second mirror element within said casing adjacent the second named opening, and conduit means extending through said casing and having the portion adjacent one end exteriorly of said front wall adjacent the upper end of said casing and having the portion adjacent the other end exteriorly of said rear wall adjacent the lower end of said casing, said conduit means being adapted for the projection of a projectile by the force of the breath of a person blowing into said conduit through said other end.

3. A toy comprising an upright elongated casing having the upper end closed and lower end closed, said casing having a front wall and a rear wall spaced from said front wall, a side wall connecting each of the adjacent edges of said front and rear walls together, the front wall of said casing being provided with an opening inwardly of and spaced from the upper end of said casing, the rear wall of said casing being provided with a sight opening inwardly of and spaced from the lower end of said casing, a first mirror element within said casing adjacent the first named opening, a second mirror element within said casing adjacent the second narned opening, and conduit means extending through said casing and having the portion adjacent one end exteriorly of said front wall adjacent the upper end of said casing and having the portion adjacent the other end exteriorly of said rear wall adjacent the lower end of said casing, said conduit means being adapted for the projection of a projectile by the force of the breath of a person blowing into said conduit through said other end.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,174,282 3/1916 Richard 8869 1,290,050 1/1919 Bay et al 1242 2,635,506 4/1953 Chaimson 88-68 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS R. PRINCE, Examiner. 

1. A TOY COMPRISING AN ELONGATED CASING HAVING A FRONT WALL AND A REAR WALL SPACED FROM SAID FRONT WALL, A SIDE WALL CONNECTING EACH OF THE ADJACENT EDGES OF SAID FRONT AND REAR WALLS TOGETHER, THE FRONT WALL OF SAID CASING BEING PROVIDED WITH AN OPENING INWARDLY OF AND SPACED FROM ONE END OF SAID CASING, THE REAR WALL OF SAID CASING BEING PROVIDED WITH A SIGHT OPENING INWARDLY OF AND SPACED FROM THE OTHER END OF SAID CASING, A FIRST MIRROR ELEMENT WITHIN SAID CASING ADJACENT THE FIRST NAMED OPENING, A SECOND MIRROR ELEMENT WITHIN SAID CASING ADJACENT THE SECOND NAMED OPENING, AND CONDUIT MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID CASING AND HAVING THE PORTION ADJACENT ONE END EXTERIORLY OF SAID FRONT WALL AND HAVING THE PORTION ADJACENT THE OTHER END EXTERIORLY OF SAID REAR WALL, SAID CONDUIT MEANS BEING ADAPTED FOR THE PROJECTION OF A PROJECTILE BY THE FORCE OF THE BREATH OF A PERSON BLOWING INTO SAID CONDUIT THROUGH SAID OTHER END. 